Sony Music Entertainment’s latest quarterly results show the continued importance of streaming in the company’s financial health. Quarterly streaming revenue from audio and video sources increased 39% from the year-ago period to 30.67 billion yen ($300 million). Continue Reading
China-based streaming service QQ Music has reportedly turned a profit. One of the platform’s general managers shared the update at an event this week, although owner Tencent has not made any formal statement confirming it. This is a noteworthy development both for the Chinese market and for streaming at large, where many western companies have struggled to get into the black. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Amazon Q2 results stay strong; Apple’s Services revenue on the rise; Apple vs Spotify. Continue Reading
New Edison research commissioned by NextRadio investigated why listeners are so dedicated to radio, even as digital music services gain traction. The central reasons for radio’s continued presence are portability, community roots, and music programming. Continue Reading
MIDiA Research has released a report on YouTube and the video platform’s impact on the music economy. With YouTube commanding a massive audience, but still drawing criticism and skepticism from artists and labels, the report adds much-needed data to explain the service’s role. “Safe Harbour-enabled UGC is no longer the threat it once was, with just 2% of music video views from unofficial uploads,” it says. Continue Reading
France’s industry body SNEP announced that its albums chart will begin counting streams. All plays from both ad-supported and subscription tiers will be included in the calculation, although the most-streamed track from an album will be down-weighted to half its streaming total. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Deezer targeting profitability in two years; podcasts as networking resource; Spotify’s Kevin Brown says the charts are not boring Continue Reading
The National Music Publishers Association and the Nashville Songwriters Association International have moved to block Sony Music Entertainment from participating in the new round of Copyright Royalty Board proceedings. After setting webcasting rates for the 2016-2020 period, the CRB will next consider mechanical royalties that will apply to interactive music services for 2018-2022. Continue Reading
Apple Music is growing its original video programming. The streaming service has purchased the rights to a new spin-off series based on Carpool Karaoke, the video segment from The Late Late Show with James Corden. The British comedian won’t host the new episodes, but he is attached as an executive producer. Continue Reading
Warner Music Group announced a partnership with streaming video service Vadio. This deal will see Vadio and its distribution partners getting access to music videos from Warner’s artist roster. Continue Reading
SoundCloud is reportedly considering a sale of the company. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg that the online audio company’s leaders are looking for paths to boosting growth and profit. SoundCloud has made several developments in its audio offerings over the past year, most recently introducing Albums. Continue Reading
The hits keep coming for Guvera. The company announced that its streaming service will end operation in its home country of Australia next week. Instead, Guvera plans to shift its efforts to emerging markets. Continue Reading